Sicilians 101

Evidence refuting claims that Sicilians are "African" or "Arab" due to heavy mixing with "black" Moors or other non-European peoples, and showing that they're genetically and phenotypically similar to other Italians and Europeans.

Sicilians Only Have 3.8% Moorish Admixture

The Moors were Arab-Berber Caucasoids, not black as is often claimed, but Sicilians only have a small amount of Moorish admixture anyway, because the Moors were expelled from Sicily and Southern Italy.

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Sicilians Only Have ~1% Black Admixture

Badly done studies have overestimated African admixture in Italy, but based on a large set of DNA markers, Sicilians have less African admixture (orange) than Northern Europeans have Asian admixture (pink).

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The Mediterranean Sea Is a Genetic Barrier

Sicilians cluster with other Italians and Europeans, not with Arabs or Africans, because the Mediterranean Sea has been a strong genetic barrier (thick red lines) since ancient times.

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Sicilians Look Just Like Other Italians

In these facial composites of randomly selected Italian models, politicians and soccer players, the Sicilians on the left look no different than the Northern Italians on the right (note: many were tanned).

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